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MINUTES
SAN LORENZO VILLAGE HOMES ASSOCIATION
MEETING NO. 1071
October 17, 2002
The regular meeting of the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association Board of Directors was held Thursday, October 17, 2002.
1.1 CALL TO ORDER -- President Kathie Ready called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm.
1.2 SALUTE TO THE FLAG -- President Ready led the Board and the audience in the pledge of allegiance.
1.3 ROLL CALL -- Directors Kathie Ready, Jim Sherman, Pat Pebelier, Peggy Sheridan and Enrique Barboza were present.
2.O MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING
2.1 Approval of the minutes of Meeting No. 1070, Thursday, Sept. 19 2002 -- Director Pebelier makes a motion to approve the minutes, Director Sherman seconds, the motion carries unanimously.
3.0 COMMENTS FROM PUBLIC AGENCIES
3.1 Alameda County Sheriff's Dept. -- Technician Freda Jones reported that the Cop Shop was supportive of Grant Elementary School's recent safety week. Sheriffs helped by passing out flyers and participating at the school. They have also done Child fingerprinting for Calvary Lutheran school.
The crime statistics for San Lorenzo in the month of September were as follows: Six (6) grand thefts, six (6) vehicle thefts, six (6) residential burglaries, seven(7) auto burglaries and three (3) commercial burglaries.
A resident asked where the auto burglaries are occurring and what type of vehicles are being stolen. Jones reported that Hesperian, Via Diego, Via Palos, and Grant avenue all had these burglaries. She stated that Toyota Camrys and Hondas have consistently been the most targeted vehicles for these crimes.
Sgt. Berge reported that there has been a 20 - 28% increase in auto burglaries in the area. The Sheriff's Department is trying to increase patrols on the affected streets to help curb these crimes. His department has also been working on several streets in the area where there have been reports of suspicious activity . They are hoping to abate some of these properties and are working on encouraging more neighborhoods to participate in the neighborhood watch programs.
3.2 CHP -- Officer Greg Schmeck reported on the following statistics:
CHP Statistics for September 2002
Type of Infraction San Lorenzo Total Unincorp. County Collisions 27 118 Tickets 138 485 Parking Tickets 15 62 Storage/Impounds 19 122 Stolen Recoveries 2 11 Parking Complaints 11 63 Total Warnings for CHP 14 42Schmeck reported that the CHP also participated at the Grant Elementary School's safety week with extra patrols at the school and officers standing in the bus and red zones making sure parents did not park illegally. Schmeck stated that his department will try and patrol one school per month during the morning and afternoon hours when parents are dropping off and picking up their children. The CHP's presence often helps with illegal parking and traffic problems at the school sites.
It was questioned whose responsibility it is for illegally parked vehicles. Officer Schmeck reported that the CHP shares the responsibility with the Sheriff's Department. The CHP will tow if there is a safety hazard or if the vehicle has expired tags over six (6) months delinquent.
3.3 Supervisor Lai-Bitker -- Staff member, Kevin Dowling , reported that his office also participated in Grant Elementary School's safety week. They were able to let the school use lawn signs with the posted speed limit, which helped slow down traffic for the area. He stated that his office is trying to facilitate an agreement with the Morman Church adjacent to the school to allow parents to use its parking lot for drop off/pick up.
Director Ready asked if it could be possible to put a crosswalk across the street from the entrance to Grant school, as many parents and children are jay walking in this area to get to the school. Dowling stated that there may be a problem with the amount of traffic on Grant Avenue and the location of the other crosswalk at Paseo Del Campo and Grant Avenue. Resident Keith Barros suggested that a four-way cross walk be put up at that specific intersection. Dowling stated that he would ask County Traffic Engineer Bob Preston if it would be feasible.
Dowling reported that at the September Association Board meeting it was asked as to whether the Arteaga Market in the Lorenzo Manor Shopping center had a conditional use permit to run its business. There were questions about the sale of fruit/vegetables and other items in front of the store. Dowling stated that he found that this market did not need a conditional use permit to run its business in this shopping center. The only conditional use permit that was needed was to sell alcohol at the store. He said that if residents have any complaints about this market they should direct their problems to his office for investigation.
Dowling also reported that he had met with residents, county staff, Arroyo High School staff and others a about the ongoing parking and traffic problems generated by the school students on Via Enrico and the surrounding neighborhoods. The county offered two solutions to these problems. One was to limit the parking by acquiring a parking permit be purchased to park in the area. The other option was to set up a "no parking zone from 8 am to 3 pm in the area. Dowling stated that residents from the area who attended this meeting were at first unwilling to the limited parking zone, but most recently have contacted him to ask the county look further into this option. It was also suggested that the teachers parking be moved from the back parking lot to the front parking lot to allow students to utilize the back parking area.
Dowling said he is also working with the county traffic engineer to help with traffic calming solutions for Via Buena Visa and Via Carmen. The residents originally wanted a stop sign for the area but are now considering the idea of a raised intersection for the area.
There has been ongoing complaints about the lack of bus shelters in the area, Dowling stated that the new bus shelters should be in place very soon in the San Lorenzo area. He said that the Unincorporated meeting for October has been cancelled due to the lack of agenda items.
Director Ready asked Dowling to find out what happened to PGE's promise of monetary relief for the damage it did when trimming San Lorenzo's trees. She also suggested that he help facilitate getting County Tree Specialist, Jim Browne on the Tree Committee which has been recently established.
Director Sherman stated that he had heard that PGE was going to start trimming the trees which are encroaching on the low voltage wires. Dowling stated that he would look into this and report back at another meeting.
3.4 Youth Advisory Commission -- None.
3.5 Public Comment -- None.
4.0 FINANCIAL REPORT
4.1 Approval of Sept. 2002 Expenditures (including payroll) -- Director Sherman makes a motion Sheridan seconds the September expenditures (including payroll), the motion carries unanimously.
4.2 Discussion of Significant Variances -- The Administrator reported there have been no significant variances.
5.0 LIEN AND VIOLATION REPORT -- The Administrator reported that there have been no liens released since the last Board meeting.
October 2002 Violation Report
Number Violation # of Letters 1/19 Inoperable Vehicles in driveway 10 2/22 Recreational veh/trailer in driveway 16 6 Lack of Gen Maintenance 2 10 Lawn Height 11 11 Dead Trees 0 12 Overgrown Vegetation 0 13 Holiday Lights 2 15 Building Exterior 3 16 Dirt Accumulation 3 17 Attractive Nuisances 0 18 Lean/miss fence 1 20/7 Unpaved parking 2 21 Working on vehicles 0 23 Dogs/Cats more than 2,0 24 Barking dogs 7 25 Prohibited animals 0 26 Excess noise 0 27 No Home Business 1 28/99 Other comments 4 Total 626.0 BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (BCDC) REPORT -- No meeting this past month/no report.
The Administrator reported that Mr. Chung, the owner of the property at Grant and Washington, has presented plans which will be heard at a reconvened BCDC on Thursday, November 7th. The specifics of the proposals will be discussed at this meeting, (ie: the hours of operation, etc.).
7.0 ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
7.1 Follow up of Waste Management Trucks -- Resident John Partridge reported that Oro Loma has decided to reconvene a Homeowners Recycling Advisory Committee which will meet in November 2002. This Advisory Committee will be made up of various members from the Home Owners Associations which are affected by this proposal. The committee will discuss the issue and make recommendations to Oro Loma. The Administrator reported that both John Partridge and Kathie Ready have been asked to serve as committee members on this board. She asked the Board members if they had any objections to Partridge and Ready representing the Association. There were no objections to their representation.
7.2 Miscellaneous Items -- None.
8.0 OTHER BUSINESS
8.1 Specific Plan discussion and recommendations -- The Administrator handed out the staff report on the current status of the Specific Plan -- see attached item A. She stated that the purpose of including this item on the agenda was to have an ongoing discussion with the developer and the board about what the community wants for the area, which include density levels, ambiance of the project and quality of life for the area. The developer noted that the Public Storage facility wanted too much money for their property, and thus five (5) acres of the project would not be available for development The developer also agreed to decrease the amount of housing from 800+ units to 600+ units.
After this meeting the Board met with the Administrator to discuss how to outline objectives that it wanted the developer to focus on for the development of the area. The following objectives were outlined:
To enhance the Homes Association property and to keep its existing property;
To revitalize the commercial property and to keep all existing retail property as well as to make commercial development a first priority when developing the area;
To build a new 30 thousand square foot Library for San Lorenzo, which the developer would help fund;
If the a new Library is built with the developer's help, to use the old building for a community center and senior/youth center for San Lorenzo;
The Lorenzo Theater should be developed as a cultural/local arts center.
The Administrator stated that the Board had discussed the trade-offs of giving up the Association property in order to be part of a town center and acquire a new building. She pointed out that in the last several years the Association has done quite a few improvements to the community center and Association office and it currently has much more acreage than was being offered by the developer.
The Administrator reported that along with the main objectives, the board had also discussed other concerns for the development. It was concerned with the parking proposed for the area and believed that a minimum of two (2) spaces per housing unit was required for the project. The developer had stated that underground parking, although originally mentioned for the project, would not be considered due to the cost involved. The Board had also discussed the number of rental units and had decided that no more than 50% of the units should be rental units. It had also looked at the location of these rental units and had suggested that the rental units be located nearer the freeway, where Black Angus is currently, and that the homeowner-occupied units be located in the old Mervyn's area closer to current residential units.
' It also discussed the relocation of the Fire Department. The consensus of the Board was to keep the Fire station in San Lorenzo. If the Fire Department wanted to relocate to Del Rey Park, the Association would be willing to work with them to help facilitate the relocation. The Board had also indicated that it would want the post office to remain in San Lorenzo.
Resident Roberta Furger stated that she was surprised that housing was not identified as an objective and asked that the need for affordable housing be added as one of the objectives. Director Ready noted that this development would not happen without housing, the developer has already made that very clear to the Board. Furger stated that even though it is a "given" that housing will be part of this development, it should still be listed as an objective. The Administrator stated that housing is not listed as an objective because when the Task Force discussed this proposal, housing was a by-product of the development. The real objective that they outlined was to revitalize the commercial area in the project. Furger stated that including the Library in the objectives seemed premature. She stated that the Library Committee whose sole purpose is to discuss the issue of a new facility had not even had its first committee meeting. She stated that she felt that conversations and decisions were being made about the project without all the necessary affected parties being involved in the process. Director Ready stated that the issue is that the community needs and wants a larger facility. Library Director, Linda Woods stated that she will not add onto the existing facility, but wants a bigger facility. The Board wanted to make this objective clear to the developer who has not committed to helping to fund the library. The Administrator stated that there is grant money available for libraries, however the exact location of the library must be in place by December 2002 and the Board wanted to help with secure some funds for San Lorenzo.
One resident stated that he likes most of the objectives, except when it comes to rental units for the area. He did not like the idea of any rental units. Director Ready stated that the developer has been willing to decrease the amount of rental units from 80% to 50% for the project. This type of housing helps the developer secure funds offered by the government for the project. The Board is still looking at the density of these units which has been proposed by the developer. She said that there are a wide variety of opinions about the housing element of this proposal and the Board has to represent all sides.
County Planning Staff member Eileen Dalton suggested that as the revitalization of the Hesperian Blvd be included as one of the objectives outlined by the Association Board.
A resident questioned how dense the housing would be without the 5 acres that was to be used with the Public Storage land. The Administrator stated that without the Homes Association property in the development, as well as the public storage area, the density would be approximately 30 units per acre. Director Ready noted that San Lorenzo had already been rated 10th in density for the Bay Area. The Board is hoping that the EIR will back this data up when looking at the amount of housing considered in the project in comparison to what our community can actually sustain. It was questioned as to whether these residential units would be under the Homes Association CC&Rs. The Administrator stated that any housing in this project would be part of the Association and therefore under its laws.
The Administrator asked the board whether it objected to adding the following objectives to what it already has in its report: a) the need for housing b) the hesperian corridor improvements and c) the mixed-use of retail space. The consensus of the board was to add these three (3) objectives to its current list of objectives for the developer to review.
Furger stated that she did not like the idea of separating the rental units. She stated the community needs to be inclusive of all its residents, and that by separating the owner occupied units from the rental units sends the wrong message to potential residents as well as it separates the community as a whole. She was also concerned that if the Association property is not part of the development, the area will not get a "town center" or perhaps will not get a development at all. She asked the board what would happen if this developer pulls out due to the fact that it cannot use the Association property in its development. She would like a clear understanding of the ramifications to this proposal if the Association property was not considered as part of the plan. The Administrator stated that the Board's intention with these objectives was to give the developer an idea of what the community's vision is for the area. Once the developer has reviewed these objectives, the hope is that they will come back with an answer as to whether the project is still feasible. Furger stated that she was concerned with the fact that this Board meeting was not publicized very well and is poorly attended. She asked how the Board can get adequate responses to these objectives without more community members involved.
Director Ready stated that trading 3 acres of property for an Association building is not being responsible to members of the Association, when all the Homeowners own this property. Director Sherman concurred with Ready and stated that not only is it unfair to give away so much acreage for a building, but where will the playground for the children go? The community is getting the same amount of retail space in this project with less open space and more housing.
Resident Keith Barros stated that housing was a by-product to get this development going. The project was approved in order to get the retail developed in the area, not crowd the community with more housing. Housing is something the community must accept but should not be a primary objective. Director Sheridan stated that housing is something that is important to the developer, but not necessarily the community.
Resident Tim Sheridan questioned whether the Association makes money off the property it currently rents out to the fire department and the preschool. The Administrator stated yes it gets monthly rent from both. Director Ready noted that if the Association does not continue to get this income it may need to increase the assessments. Resident Helen Randall stated that she would hate to see the San Lorenzo Homes Association give up land prior to allowing a vote by all its members.
Furger said that it was her understanding that the developer was willing to include a childcare facility and a playground in the project. She stated that she understood from the Administrator that the Association has just started a dialog with respect to the playground and that the developer never rejected the idea of adding a playground to the plan.
The Administrator stated that the board has only met with the developer twice and that there has not been a a lot of serious negotiation. The Board did forward a four page letter to the developer outlining some concerns on the initial project. However, there has not been serious dialog about what exactly the community wants. The purpose of the outlining of these objectives is to give the developer an idea as to what the community wants and to get feed back from the developer as to whether the project is feasible with these objectives in mind.
Dalton stated that her understanding is that the developer is looking for direction from the community. They want to provide San Lorenzo with something the community will embrace and does not want to spend more money on the project if the community is not happy with the development. The developer also needs the plan to be financially feasible. She stated that the County Planning Department would not allow the development without adequate open space and an area for a playground or tot-lot.
Director Ready questioned if the Board is being premature in making these recommendations, without the final EIR. Dalton stated that the Board may be premature, but that the developer need some direction at this point to start some forward momentum on the project.
Resident Dorothy Partridge questioned why the community needs to rearrange what is already working for the community. She stated that it is clear that San Lorenzo needs a fire station, a library and other amenities. It is important that the community develop what is currently vacant and to build or rebuild where there is already no business in place.
Furger stated that she does not want to lose any existing businesses but does want a whole unified downtown area. The community does not need piece meal development and this should be factored into any suggestions for the plan.
Director Ready stated that the idea of giving away versus keeping the Association property needs to be considered by all homeowners and she was concerned with making a recommendation to keep the property without a vote from the membership. The Administrator noted that the Board is not making a final decision on these issues, but is suggesting to the developer what it wants. Director Sherman noted that these objectives outlined are just for direction, not for a final vote on the project.
Resident Barros stated that he would like to see a minimum of 2 parking spaces per unit, and if parking structures are necessary they be located closer to the freeway. He would also like to see the density of the project at a maximum of 400 to 425 units. He stated that he was uncomfortable with anything over 30 units per acre.
Director Ready said that the density of the area needs to be such that residents will not require a parking permit to park in front of their respective homes. She stated that we need housing for this proposal but we also need to maintain the same quality of life we have now.
Dowling suggested that the Board define density rather than give a count of housing units for the area. This will allow the developer to put more housing near the freeway and less in residential areas.
Furger questioned why the Board needs to suggest a fixed number of units for the project prior to the final draft of the EIR. Director Ready stated that EIRs do not always have the perfect answers and it is important that the Board convey a number to the developer so that he can decide whether that amount is feasible for the project. Furger pointed out that when considering units proposed for the area you need to consider that all units are not just apartments, but some are senior units and town homes.
The consensus of the Board was that it recommend between 425 to 450 housing units in the proposed development.
8.2 Approval of election schedule/procedures (See attached schedule) -- Director Sherman moved to approve the election schedule, Director Barboza seconded the motion, the motion carried unanimously.
The Administrator stated that the Association will also purchase a large secure trunk to store all the ballots in should there be an election.
8.3 Approval of audit for FY 2001-2002 -- Director Sherman moved to approve the final audit for FY 2001-2002, Director Pebelier seconds, the motion carries unanimously.
9.0 PUBLIC COMMENT -- None.
10.0 COMMITTEE REPORTS
10.1 Airport Committees -- No report. Staff member Dowling from Supervisor Lai Bitker's office reported that he is setting up a meeting with the Hayward Airport Director, the Association's Airport Committee representative and a San Lorenzo resident to discuss airport noise and the new hangers that are being build to house the jets at the airport.
10.2 Youth Resources -- No Report.
11.0 COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS -- Director Ready stated that she had heard that Dolores Roach is in charge of a beatification plan for unincorporated Alameda County. The object of this plan is to make communities cleaner and more attractive. She stated that through this plan there are tree grants available, however the application from these grants must be done soon, because the deadline for the application is within the next few weeks. Ready asked Dowling if he knew if Jim Browne, from Alameda County, knew about these grants and was applying for trees for our area. Dowling stated that he will make sure these grants applications are being done.
Dowling also reported that the owner of the North side of the Bockman Shopping Center, Mr. Chang is considering getting out of the retail business for that area and putting in housing.
12.0 ADJOURNMENT -- President Ready adjourned the meeting at 10:27 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pat Pebelier
Secretary-Treasurer
Recorded & Transcribed By: Kathleen Harrigan, Sr. Admin. Assistant
Reviewed By: Nancy Van Huffel, Administrator, Kathie Ready, Board President
Matters considered by the board at its Oct. 17 work session:
(a) 16137 Via Alamitos -- Review of options to adjust front yard paving. Owners not present, DENIED.
(b) 1485 Via Buena Vista -- Corner lot 6 ft redwood side yard fence with 10 ft setback. APPROVED.
(c) 1888 Via Buena Vista -- 6 ft redwood replacement fence wit 7'8" setback from street. APPROVED.
(d) 997 Hacienda -- Corner lot side yard 6 ft redwood with 9 ft setback from street. APPROVED WITH CONDITION 10 ft setback.
(e) 582 Via Acalanes ---Front yard 6 ft fence extending 5 feet from leading edge of house. APPROVED WITH CONDITION that fence will drop to 3 ft after extension.
(f) 1186 Via Coralla -- 4 ft front yard redwood fence with 10 ft setback. APPROVED.